In Implementation of Mental Health Programs in Schools, Susan Forman discusses the myriad of issues that need to be considered for effectively implementing evidence-based programs in schools. Implementing evidence-based behavioral interventions is complex, labor intensive, and requires great attention to... Continue reading

Robert Furey and Colleen Furey, reviewers of The ADHD Explosion: Myths, Medication, Money, and Today’s Push for Performance by Stephen P. Hinshaw and Richard M. Scheffler, describe the “ADHD explosion” in stark and alarming terms: in 2011, there were 2... Continue reading

In Rewire: Digital Cosmopolitans in the Age of Connection, author Ethan Zuckerman proposes that most of us have a distorted worldview, largely because we are receiving only the information that news outlets deem worthy of sharing (decisions driven by the... Continue reading

Suicides committed by adolescent victims of bullying have made national headlines; currently in the news is the suicide of Rebecca Sedwick, a 12-year-old girl who was bullied by two female classmates (12 and 14 years old) in Florida. The bullying... Continue reading

In their edited book Thriving and Spirituality Among Youth: Research Perspectives and Future Possibilities, Amy Eva Alberts Warren, Richard M. Lerner, and Erin Phelps explore the current research on the roles of spirituality and religion in youths' lives. The book... Continue reading

Jo B. Paoletti in Pink and Blue: Telling the Boys From the Girls in America describes the role that children's clothing has played and continues to play in communicating children's gender. Paoletti provides a historical perspective on this issue, describing... Continue reading

I think psychology has much to contribute to legal and political issues, including wrongful conviction. Certainly, few would claim that law, politics, culture, or any other level of analysis should be slighted in favor of psychology, but as this book points out there are psychological phenomena (e.g., confirmation bias, belief preservation) that offer explanations for how the decision-making process can lead to an undesired outcome. Psychological science can be used to inform the legal profession of factors at the societal-, group- and individual- levels that influence the decision to convict someone wrongfully. The question isn’t whether psychology has anything to contribute, but how to effectively disseminate psychological findings to real-world situations and to evaluate the degree to which making people aware of such information makes a difference.

Leslie Rosen, reviewer of Conviction of the Innocent: Lessons From Psychological Research edited by Brian L. Cutler, asks an important question with her review title: "Psychological research has much to say: So why don't the courts, police departments, and legislatures listen?" It is a questi...

In her book Babies Without Borders: Adoption and Migration Across the Americas, Karen Dubinsky delves into how international and interracial adoption may negatively affect children as they sometimes bear the weight of adult political conflicts. Reviewer Judith Gibbons highlights some... Continue reading